


Am I Lucky Or Not?

by imthehotgirl



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Normal High School, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, First Kiss, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-20
Updated: 2020-08-20
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:27:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26001133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imthehotgirl/pseuds/imthehotgirl
Summary: When Liam finds out about his Senior Year Humanities Project that he has a month to complete, he knows without a doubt that he doesn't want to partner-up with Theo Raeken, BHH's resident douchebag. But as luck would have it Theo is exactly who his partner turns out to be. And through their time working together Liam not only comes to realize Theo isn't such a jerk like he originally thought, Theo earns an unwanted nickname and they both develop deeper feelings than either of them anticipated.
Relationships: Liam Dunbar/Theo Raeken
Comments: 4
Kudos: 18





	Am I Lucky Or Not?

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is largely inspired by the Thiam video Suida made. Suida's video 'What Lovers Do' can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdcJFGmHTzc
> 
> Some dialogue for this fic is taken directly from the video, which also means directly from the show itself. No disrespect is meant. These aren't my characters. I'm just playing in Jeff Davis' sandbox.
> 
> I started this fic back in March and it took me a lot longer than anticipated to finish, but if you're patient with me I promise to have the next part available as soon as I can. Until then... Enjoy! :o)

Liam Dunbar hated Theo Raeken. The guy was a grade ‘A’ royal douche.

From the moment he opened his mouth and started talking he just completely rubbed Liam the wrong way.

And now that they were forced to do their Senior Year Social Humanities Project with one another Liam had to ‘play nice’ for a whole month while they worked on the damn thing.

“Told you we’d end up on the same side,” Theo told him with a smug grin.

'Or NOT'. Liam thought in disgust, unable to stop the sarcastic comment that flew from his mouth a moment later. “How about I punch you in the balls to remind you we’re not?” he retorted.

Theo chuckled, his eyes darting over to a fellow classmate, Scott McCall.

“I love this kid,” he said earnestly, continuing to smirk, jerking his thumb in Liam’s direction so Scott would know without a doubt who he was talking about.

Liam huffed out an annoyed breath and crossed his arms at his chest before rolling his eyes. “Do you want to come over to my house after school so we can get started?” he asked reluctantly, his eyes narrowing the longer he stared at the other boy.

“You know if you keep looking at me like that your face will get stuck that way,” Theo replied bluntly yet remaining deadpan.

“Shut up,” Liam grumbled. “So, we gonna get started after school or what?” he demanded, attempting to remain undeterred despite Theo’s best efforts.

Theo sighed, his eyes seeming to lose a bit of their sparkle. “Fine. But we’re not meeting at your house. Meet me out front of the school. We’re gonna do some traveling.”

“Um, okay…?” Liam agreed reluctantly.

“Awesome. Catch ya later, Dunbar,” Theo said, smacking Liam in the arm after standing up once the bell rang.

“Ow,” Liam whimpered to himself, rubbing at the sore part of his arm, ignoring Theo as the other boy headed to his next class.

Liam couldn’t shake the impending doom that came with the knowledge that he and Theo were in for a long month together if their first interactions concerning the project were any indication.

**

Later that afternoon Liam met Theo out front of the high school as promised.

“Let’s roll,” Theo said, leading Liam in the direction of his truck.

Liam sighed heavily looking longing across the parking lot at his best friend Mason Hewitt’s car.

Getting into the truck Liam was overwhelmed by the sensation that the truck appeared worn in, comfortable, like Theo spent a lot of time in it.

“You really love your truck, huh?” he asked, raising an eyebrow in the other boy’s direction.

Theo’s relaxed demeanor immediately shifted to an alert, defensive one as his whole posture stiffened upon Liam’s question.

“Shut up, Dunbar,” he growled as he finally started the truck and headed out of the school’s parking lot.

Liam swallowed back a retort, slightly curious to know why Theo was getting so bent out of shape about his stupid truck, but also valuing his own life, so he kept his mouth shut on the subject.

“Theo?” he finally ventured cautiously. “Where’re you taking me?”

Theo’s firm grasp on the steering wheel slackened as his body relaxed upon hearing Liam’s question.

“It’s a surprise,” he eventually replied, a small smile gracing his features.

Liam slid down into the passenger seat, heaving yet another heavy sigh as he rolled his eyes. “Perfect,” he muttered, proceeding to glare out of the passenger side window as Theo continued to drive.

**

A little while later they pulled up outside the Beacon Hills Police Department.

“Theo? What the hell are we doing here?” Liam demanded, raising an eyebrow as he stared at the other boy in disbelief.

“I want to show you something. Come on,” Theo said, climbing from the truck.

Liam reluctantly followed after him, unsure exactly what was happening or what to expect from the other boy or the random (some would say bizarre) experience they were about to share.

Upon entering the Sheriff’s station Liam was slightly stunned to see Theo nod and grin at Sheriff Noah Stilinski in greeting and have the Sheriff smile in return.

“I’m friends with his son Stiles,” Theo said as way of explanation catching sight of Liam’s questioning look.

“Right,” Liam replied, unsure how else to respond in the moment since Theo had just led them to the back of the station. Lockup. He gulped looking at the empty cells surrounding them.

Without preamble Theo stepped into one of the jail cells, the door automatically locking behind him as it closed.

“What the hell are you doing?!” Liam hissed, his eyes darting nervously in the direction of the bullpen, wondering if they were about to be accosted by an officer or the Sheriff himself.

Theo huffed out an amused laugh, smirking yet again. “Would you relax, Dunbar? I already cleared this with the Sheriff,” he reassured Liam.

“Oh,” Liam said, his fear readily evaporating as quickly as it’d surfaced. “Then what’re we doing here?” he asked, circling back to just feeling utterly confused.

“You got a pen and a piece of paper?” Theo asked instead.

Liam’s brow furrowed in confusion, but he shifted his backpack to the floor, rummaged through the bag until he’d found what Theo was asking for and passed them through the bars of the jail cell to the other boy. “So, what’re we doing?” he repeated as Theo began to write.

“Our Humanities project,” came Theo’s simple reply.

“Okay, which is what exactly? Mind sharing with the rest of the class, Theo?” Liam snarled, his frustration returning as he realized none of this was turning out like he’d expected.

He silently made a pact with himself that once he got to college he’d be doing everything by himself. No partner work. Screw what the teachers had planned.

“Yeah. We each come up with five wishes. You know, places we want to go, things we want to see or do one last time before graduation. Memorable shit, okay? I mean, I thought it seemed like a good idea,” Theo said with a shrug.

“Oh,” Liam replied dumbly, belatedly realizing that Theo might’ve stumbled onto a really brilliant idea. “That’s…that’s a great idea, Theo,” he murmured. “Anything else?”

“Yeah, three rules. First rule: We write down anything and everything we do so we’ll get credit for it. Second: Whatever our wishes are, we work on them or do them together. And third: No matter what happens and no matter how you may end up feeling about me when all of this is over you have to promise you won’t fall in love with me,” Theo said, ripping the piece of paper he’d been writing on out of the notebook before handing the notebook and pen back to Liam.

Liam snorted. “Okay, Mandy Moore. Is this the part where you tell me you’re dying of a terminal illness or some jacked up shit like that?”

“Shut up, Dunbar. Just get started on your list. Oh, and tell the Sheriff to get the keys and get me the hell out of here so I can take you home,” Theo said.

“Oh. Oh, right!” Liam exclaimed, hurrying off to find the Sheriff.

**

A few days later Liam sat in Mason’s bedroom playing video games with his best friend when his phone dinged for like the fifth time in a row.

“Somebody’s popular today,” Mason noted with a smirk.

Liam rolled his eyes, checking his texts. “It’s nothing. Just my partner for that Humanities Project,” he muttered, tossing his video game controller to the floor where he sat as his phone dinged with yet another text message. “What the hell?” he growled in annoyance.

Theo: Hey, Dunbar. Time to make my first wish come true. 😉

Liam: Rain check? I’m at Mason’s right now.

Theo: Yeah, I know, genius. Outside.

Liam scrambled to his feet and rushed to Mason’s bedroom window which looked out towards the street. “Dammit,” he groaned, sighing heavily, spotting Theo’s truck parked at the curb by Mason’s house.

“What’s going on, man?” Mason asked with a chuckle. “Oh, hell yeah!” he immediately crowed happily a few minutes later after obliterating the evil creature they’d been hunting, advancing to the next level of the game.

“Theo. He’s outside. Guess he wants to get started on our project,” Liam muttered, scowling. His phone dinged again.  
Theo: Dunbar?

“That’s cool, man. I should probably get in touch with Corey anyway. See when he wants to get started on ours,” Mason said, mentioning his boyfriend.

“Do you even know how lucky you are to be working with your boyfriend on this stupid thing? Leave it to me to get stuck working on it with someone I can’t even stand,” Liam grumbled, glaring at his phone as Theo texted him again.

Theo: Hello…? You ready to go or what?

Liam: Out in a few… Don’t make me regret this, Mandy.

Mason chuckled. “Don’t I know it! But come on, man. Theo can’t be that bad, can he?”

Liam sighed heavily. “Jury’s still out,” he muttered. “Guess I’ll see you later.”

A few minutes later he’d climbed into the passenger seat of Theo’s truck.

“Hey,” he mumbled, clicking his seatbelt into place.

“Is ‘Mandy’ going to stick?” Theo asked warily.

Liam shrugged. “It might. Why?” he asked, a smirk curling his lips.

“Honestly, I find it annoying as hell,” Theo replied, his expression souring as they headed down the road.

Liam grinned, suddenly feeling as if Christmas had come early. “Awesome. Yeah, it’s totally a thing now,” he readily agreed.

“Terrific,” Theo growled.

“So, you gonna tell me where we’re going?” Liam asked, giving the other boy a cursory glance.

Theo glared at him in response.

“Oh…kay. Guess I’ll take that as a ‘no’. How about you tell me why in the hell you insisted on sitting in that jail cell yesterday?” he demanded, shifting the topic away from their destination.

Theo huffed out a laugh, his features eventually softening. “I just wanted to make sure you were really listening.”

Liam shook his head, laughing in disbelief himself. “You’re really weird, you know that?”

“Got your attention though, didn’t it?” Theo insisted.

“Sure. But we couldn’t have had that conversation in your truck?” Liam asked, bewildered. 

“No.”

“You mind elaborating on that?”

“Dunbar, how about you shut up and mind your own damn business? That elaborate enough for you?”

“Touchy subject, got it, sorry. How about a change of subject? Again,” Liam muttered.

“Whatever,” Theo replied. “Go ahead and tell me something that’s on your list,” he suggested.

Liam’s eyes widened. “Oh. So, it’s okay for me to spill my guts on the whole wish thing, but not for you? Nicely played, Mandy,” he snarked, turning his focus out the passenger side window, watching trees and houses fly past them as Theo drove.

Theo snorted, his eyes dancing in amusement. “You’ll find out soon enough where we’re going, Dunbar. Come on, tell me,” he wheedled softly.

“No. This is bullshit, man! I’m not gonna play by your set of rules and standards. What’s in it for me, huh? Oh, yeah, I remember now. A wasted Saturday,” Liam retorted, the anger he’d initially felt upon finding out Theo was his partner for this lame project resurfacing.

“We’re going into the woods. There’s a bridge there. It’s where Tara died,” Theo replied woodenly.

Liam bit down on his lower lip, unsure how to respond for several minutes. “Tara… She was your sister, right?”

Theo nodded curtly, cutting the engine to his truck since they’d apparently arrived ‘close-ish’ to their destination. He wordlessly climbed from the vehicle and opened the back door behind the driver’s seat, taking out a small bouquet of lilies that’d been resting in the seat behind the driver’s side.

Liam silently yet awkwardly followed suit, falling in behind Theo as the other boy presumably headed in the direction of the aforementioned bridge.

“Theo?” he reluctantly asked, hoping not to get his head verbally chewed off for speaking.

“What?” came Theo’s sullen reply.

Liam’s mind bounced around wildly, attempting to come up with some form of distracting conversation. He was only able to sufficiently conjure up one word and before he could stifle the impulse to speak, he was blurting it out.

“Handcuffs!” he croaked, cringing slightly at how stupid he sounded.

“What?” Theo asked, his eyes narrowing as he frowned in Liam’s direction, the two of them continuing to walk beside one another.

“You know…Handcuffs!” Liam yelled, gesticulating wildly as he struggled not to start laughing hysterically at his own insane antics.

“I’m gonna need a little more to go on I think,” Theo told Liam, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

“Not a whole lot of fun being in the dark, is it?” Liam shot back, a smug grin gracing his features.

Theo snorted, nodding in agreement. “Point taken. You want to explain ‘handcuffs’ to me or am I just going to have to try to read your mind, Dunbar?”

“You wanted to know what I put on my list and handcuffs was one of my ideas,” Liam said with a shrug.

Theo’s eyes widened in surprise. “Wow, kinky. Care to elab…”

Liam glared at the other boy, his nostrils flaring slightly as he interrupted Theo mid-sentence.

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence, Mandy,” he snapped, his ears turning red.

Theo chuckled, shaking his head, his eyes dancing with mirth. “You make it too easy sometimes, Dunbar.”

“Says the GUY named 'Mandy'!” Liam retorted angrily.

“Hey, I never claimed that one. You’re the one who gave me that ridiculous nickname and won’t let it die, man,” Theo insisted, chuckling again.

“If the shoe fits,” Liam snarled.

Theo rolled his eyes. “Fine, be a dick, Dunbar. I’m going to the bridge to talk with my sister.”

And just like that Liam’s anger evaporated. His eyes rolled skyward for a moment as he drew in a deep breath. “Hold up, Mandy. I’ll come with you,” he relented.

The two of them silently headed in the direction of the bridge, Theo pushing Liam in the shoulder every so often as they walked alongside each other.

**

A few days later Liam met Theo at his locker after school.

“So, you ready to help me cash in my first wish?” he asked Theo.

“Just one question. Does it involve those handcuffs you kept referring to the other day?” Theo asked, his amusement flooding his features as he and Liam held each other’s gazes.

“You’re just gonna have to come with me to find out,” Liam replied, tugging on Theo’s hand until the two of them were out in the school’s parking lot, once again in Theo’s truck. “Just drive. I’ll give you directions,” Liam told Theo when he caught the other boy give him a curious look.

“Bossy,” Theo muttered, doing as he was told.

“This is gonna be fun. Promise,” Liam reassured him.

“If you say so, Dunbar,” Theo said. 

A short while later they came upon Dr. Alan Deaton’s Veterinary Clinic.

“Park around back,” Liam instructed, his leg jiggling in anticipation as Theo followed through with the direction. “What? No snarky comments? Disappointing, dude,” he said with a laugh, punching Theo lightly in the arm before climbing from the truck.

“Where the hell are we?” Theo finally demanded as he followed after Liam, passing a paddock and into a stable behind the clinic, the two of them immediately surrounded by rows of horse stalls on either side of them.

“You saw the sign out front. Shortly after I got kicked out of Devenford Prep my dad brought me here to Deaton’s for therapy. You know, to help manage my IED. I spent the summer mucking stalls, prepping horses for riders and learning to ride a little myself. Bella here became one of my first real friends in Beacon Hills. Isn’t that right, girl?” he explained, stroking the nose of the horse they stood in front of.

“You know how to ride a horse?” Theo asked, his disbelief clear in his tone as he spoke.

“Not really,” Liam admitted with a brief, nervous chuckle.

“Come now, Mr. Dunbar. You have a way with the horses,” Deaton said coming up behind them, making Liam jump. He blushed hearing Theo snort in amusement at his surprise.

“I don’t know about that,” Liam muttered, biting down on his lower lip.

“Trust your instincts, Mr. Dunbar. You’ll be fine,” Deaton insisted, giving Liam an encouraging smile before leaving them alone as he went toward the stable’s small office.

Liam sighed, realizing if he wanted to get Bella ready to ride, he would have to do it himself. Thinking back on what Deaton had advised him he could feel himself on the verge of a plan. All he had to do was convince Theo this idea had been part of his original wish all along.

“So, you figured out my wish yet?” he asked.

“That you wanted to reminisce and revisit a place that really helped you out in the past,” Theo said slowly, his confusion over Liam’s question evident in his features.

“Actually, the main reason I wanted to come here is because I wanted to ride Bella again. With you,” Liam replied, biting down on his lip again to prevent himself from laughing aloud as Theo’s face drained of color at his statement. “Remember it’s one of your rules, Mandy,” he reminded the other boy, his smirk finally making an appearance.

Theo narrowed his eyes in Liam’s direction at hearing the unfavorable nickname yet again. “You seriously expect me to get on the back of that thing with you, Dunbar? There’s no way in hell I’m doing that,” he insisted emphatically.

“You never know what you can do ‘til you try. Do you trust me?” Liam asked.

“No,” Theo retorted.

“Come on, Theo. Now’s the perfect time to start,” Liam insisted, practically begging.

Theo rolled his eyes, sighing heavily. “Fine. But only because you called me Theo and not, you know, that other name.”

“What?” Liam questioned innocently. “’MANDY’?” he continued, his eyes dancing in amusement.

“Shut up, Dunbar!” Theo snapped, glaring at Liam. “I hate you,” he grumbled.

“Of course you do, Mandy,” Liam replied with a nod.

**

A little while later the two of them sat atop Bella and were making their way around the paddock.

“You okay?” Liam murmured, feeling Theo’s arms tighten around his waist and bury his face against Liam’s shoulder.

“This is worse than being on the back of a motorcycle,” Theo mumbled.

“Really? We’re just walking at this point, man. And I hadn’t planned on taking her any faster than that. I won’t now, knowing you’re not comfortable with it. You gotta learn to trust,” Liam told him.

“Whatever,” Theo muttered.

“It’s a control thing, isn’t it? You don’t like not being the one in control,” Liam theorized. 

“Shut up,” Theo growled. A response that led Liam to believe he was right in his assumption.

Once again, he mulled over a topic of discussion that would sufficiently distract Theo enough that he would forget somewhat where he was and what he was doing.

“So, were lilies Tara’s favorite flower?” He felt Theo suck in a breath and tense up behind him.

“Yeah,” Theo finally replied, “She loved them.”

“Cool. Uh, you ever, you ever gonna tell me what happened to her? You were pretty quiet that day on the bridge,” Liam said.

“The bridge was a place Tara and I’d go a lot to play together when we were kids. By the time I was twelve and she was sixteen we’d both outgrown it and each other in a lot of ways. The day…the day Tara died I’d gone over to Stiles’ house to hang out, mess around, ya know? It wasn’t until I got home that I even knew anything was wrong. The Sheriff, Stiles’ dad, was there talking to my parents. I guess Tara and some friends of hers had been going to the bridge, using it as a spot to get high. And this time she couldn’t handle it, it was making her pretty paranoid, hysterical or something, so she jumped off the bridge and ended up drowning,” Theo explained, his voice soft as he spoke yet also fairly steady. As if the pain of his sister’s death was just something he’d grown to accept over the years.

Liam drew Bella to a stop and climbing off of her he took ahold of Theo’s hand, helping the other boy off the horse. Wordlessly, he pulled Theo to him into a hug.

“What the hell are you doing, Dunbar?” Theo demanded gruffly, refusing to accept the comfort Liam was offering by remaining rigid in Liam’s hold.

“That must’ve sucked,” Liam finally replied, ignoring Theo’s question.

Theo sighed, nodding into Liam’s shoulder as he gradually melted into Liam’s hold. “Yeah, it did,” he eventually agreed.

Gently pulling back from his hold on the other boy, Liam leveled his gaze with Theo. “We good?” he asked warily.

“Yeah, Dunbar. We’re good,” Theo hummed in agreement. “Just one question.”

“Yeah? What’s up?” 

“Are you ever going to explain the handcuffs?”

Liam laughed aloud at the unexpected question and change of subject. “We’ll get there. Don’t worry,” he promised, grinning when Theo laughed along with him.

**

The following week Liam had gone to Beacon Hills Preserve for a party with the lacrosse team and while walking through the woods he’d somehow managed to fall into a hole and twist his ankle.

Wincing in pain, he struggled to focus, to come up with a battle plan. Soon the only option he could think of came to mind. As much as he hated the idea, he knew calling Theo was his only way of escape in that moment.

Theo would get in touch with the Sheriff and Liam would be out of this damn hole and back home before he knew it.

Pulling his phone from his pocket he called Theo, sighing in relief when the other boy picked up on the second ring.

“Hey, Liam. What’s up?” Theo asked in surprise after answering the phone.

“I need your help,” Liam told him.

“Cool. Where are you? I’ll pick you up,” Theo suggested.

“A lacrosse party at Beacon Hills Preserve. In a hole,” Liam slowly admitted.

“What?” Theo demanded in disbelief, unable to hide his laughter.

“Shut up,” Liam growled. “Come get me. And bring a flashlight.”

Theo sighed. “Fine. I’ll be there in a few,” he promised before hanging up.

Liam sighed in relief knowing help wasn’t too far away.

**

A short while later Theo had managed to find Liam. Liam’s heart leapt and he laughed in relief seeing the other boy, flat on his belly looking down into the hole at him.

“Wow, you really did fall down a hole,” Theo told him in disbelief.

“What? Did you think I was kidding about that?” Liam snarked, his eyes narrowing with a mixture of anger and hurt over the other boy not believing him. “Pretty sure I twisted my ankle or something too. It just.. it hurts to put pressure on it right now.”

“Dammit, Liam,” Theo swore, his expression welling with concern.

“Do you think you can get help?” Liam asked.

“I am the help,” Theo replied, giving Liam a weak smile.

“Terrific,” Liam muttered.

**

Liam wasn’t entirely sure how they’d managed it, but he was eventually sitting on the leaf-covered forest floor next to Theo, thanks to a rope, the other boy’s determination, and his own upper body strength.

“Thanks for not leaving me down there to rot or, uh, die or whatever,” he mumbled, giving Theo a small smile.

“You’re an idiot, Dunbar. I won’t be able to graduate if we don’t turn in our Humanities Project,” Theo reminded him with a smirk.

Liam scowled. “Jerk,” he muttered, shoving the other boy’s shoulder.

Theo snorted, his amusement unwavering. “Whatever, Dunbar. At least this can count towards our project.”

“Memorable shit?” Liam questioned, another faint smile lighting his features.

“Exactly,” Theo agreed. Liam watched as he got to his feet. “Your dad’s working tonight, right?” he asked, mentioning Liam’s stepfather, Dr. David Geyer, who worked at Beacon Hills Hospital.

“Yeah,” Liam replied. He squawked for a moment as Theo lifted him up into his arms. “What the hell are you doing?!” he whispered furiously, struggling to get onto his own feet.

“Shut up!” Theo snapped, glaring at him. “And stop resisting before I drop you, Dunbar. There’s no way in hell I’m letting you do this by yourself when your ankle is already hurting you. Just fucking relax,” he growled.

Liam swallowed hard, reluctantly putting his arms around Theo’s neck, and relaxing into the other boy’s hold as the desire to fight left him, the two of them slowly heading in the direction of Theo’s truck.

“Thanks. You’re my hero, Mandy,” he mumbled, his eyes fluttering closed as his head involuntarily landed on the other boy’s shoulder, the events from the night finally catching up to him somewhat.

He smiled into Theo’s neck hearing Theo snort yet again. “I still hate that nickname.”

“Too bad you’re stuck with it then,” he teased softly, his grin only widening as he felt the comforting rumble of Theo’s laughter against his body.

**

In the days that followed Liam and Theo became inseparable. They did nearly everything with one another. Which was great for Liam; to have someone there for him that he could depend on to help him as his ankle healed… He wasn’t sure how he would’ve made it through a regular school day on his own. But having Theo helping and supporting him made the whole ordeal far more bearable.

Theo, Liam was coming to realize, was someone that he wanted in his life.

Theo was the first person he thought of when he went to sleep at night and again when he awoke the following morning. He was the first one Liam wanted to tell when something exciting or funny happened.

He enjoyed being the reason Theo smiled or laughed. And, it’d become rare, but whenever they couldn’t spend the day together for whatever reason, Liam found that he missed Theo.

“It’s because you’re in love with him,” Mason said, rolling his eyes at Liam once he’d finished explaining how he felt.

“What?” Liam asked in confusion. “No. I can’t be,” he insisted.

“And yet, you are,” Mason reassured him with a smile.

“No, I can’t be. I really can’t,” Liam repeated, feeling himself start to panic. 'It’s against the rules!' He thought as he suddenly remembered the rules Theo had developed for their Humanities Project when they’d first started working on it nearly a month ago.

“Answer me this, Liam. Have you ever thought about kissing Theo? Or, you know, had an especially vivid daydream involving the two of you?” Mason asked.

Liam felt his mouth go dry as he realized the answer to Mason’s question. “Yes,” he croaked, blushing at the realization that his best friend had been aware of his feelings before he had himself. “I’m in love with Theo.”

“Yeah, you are. Congratulations, Liam,” Mason said with a chuckle. “So, when’re you going to tell him?”

NEVER. Liam immediately thought. Yeah, never was the only way he’d be able to make it to the other side of Senior Year. And with that thought firmly in mind he gave Mason a weak smile and a shrug in response.

**

In the days that followed, Liam slowly came to the realization that his resolve to ‘never’ be forthcoming about his feelings for Theo would potentially be harder for him to keep than he’d initially hoped.

The truth was he wanted Theo to know. Even if that meant Theo would become angry with him and quite possibly rearrange his face in the process. But he had to try, didn’t he?

With Liam having gotten the ‘all clear’ from his stepdad just a few days earlier in regards to his ankle being fully healed, he and Theo were once again in Theo’s truck on the way towards making another one of Theo’s wishes come true.

A short while later they had made their way into Beacon Hills Salvage Yard. Once they’d exited Theo’s truck, Liam followed at the other boy’s heels, silently taking in the rundown cars surrounding them.

“The functioning ones are around back,” Theo explained, leading Liam in that direction.

“What’re we doing here, Theo?” Liam asked after they’d seemed to have stopped next to an outdated police cruiser.

“Stiles and I used to come here a lot as kids to mess around,” Theo murmured. “We’d get lost in the piles of junk and our overactive imaginations.”

“Okay, great. What the hell am I doing here then?” Liam demanded, an amused smile tugging at the edges of his mouth.

“We’re gonna steal this cruiser,” Theo said, nodding in the direction of the cop car.

“Excuse me?” Liam choked out, color draining from his face. “Dammit, I really should’ve just punched you in the balls that first day we got this stupid assignment and been done with it,” he said with a scowl.

Theo laughed aloud. “Oh, would you relax? We’ve got permission to take her out for a spin. I okayed everything with Kira and her dad. And Sheriff Stilinski if you’re worried about that. It just seemed like it’d be more fun if we pretended we were stealing it,” he said, smirking, mentioning the salvage yard owner and his daughter.

Liam sighed heavily, rolling his eyes. “Okay. You have a point,” he admitted reluctantly.

“So, we’re doing this then?” Theo asked, some of his excitement from earlier returning.

“Yeah, Mandy, I’m in,” Liam replied, giving Theo a grin as the other boy laughed again.

In that moment Liam decided that he would tell Theo how he felt no matter the outcome. He just needed a little insurance so Theo wouldn’t run scared like Liam was predicting he would. 'Time to break out the handcuffs'. He thought with a renewed sense of determination.

But first, he and Theo had a cop car to misappropriate.

**  
A few days later the two of them were walking through the woods, Liam leading a handcuffed Theo in the direction of the bridge. Tara’s bridge.

Liam wasn’t entirely certain where he’d managed to find the courage to bring Theo to the place where the other boy grieved his sister, but the closer they got to the bridge the worse Liam felt.

He finally turned around, facing a clearly confused Theo, if his features were anything to go by. “This was a bad idea,” he muttered, his eyes shifting to the ground.

“What’re you talking about, Liam? What’s going on?” Theo demanded softly, nodding in the direction of the bridge.

“I-I, uh, I had something important to tell you. And initially for some reason I thought telling you here, a place where something tragic happened in your life, would be the best place to do it. I’m an idiot,” Liam told him.

Theo’s features melted into a look of curious amusement. “Oh, you’ve gotta tell me now, Dunbar.”

Liam swallowed back a sudden wave of fear. “I-I, Theo, I’m in love with you.”

Theo stared at him in silence long enough for Liam to start panicking internally. He gave Theo a broad, forced smile. “Theo, I didn’t… I mean, I-I…” he trailed off weakly, swallowing hard.

Theo raised an eyebrow in Liam’s direction, a smirk curling his lip upward. “I knew I could be charming sometimes, but damn, I really wasn’t expecting this,” he finally replied, his smirk still present.

Liam’s mood quickly soured, his features melting into a frown. “Yeah, you’re not that charming, Mandy,” he snapped.

Theo rolled his eyes. “Every time I think I’m free of that stupid nickname you prove me wrong, Dunbar. Thanks so much for that, hon. Seriously. Should I just leave you to your emo thoughts now?” he demanded sarcastically. “Oh, that’s right, I can’t!” he continued angrily, holding up his handcuffed hands for Liam to see.

Liam sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair as he finally met Theo’s gaze head-on. “You want me to get you out of those?” he asked, holding up the handcuff keys in resignation. He figured it had to be some kind of record crashing and burning as quickly as he had after his love confession.

Theo just snorted in response, giving Liam a pointed look as he waited impatiently for Liam to follow through on his suggestion.

Once Theo was free of the handcuffs Liam watched dejectedly as the other boy headed back in the direction of his truck.

When Liam had finally come to the realization that Theo intended to leave him at the bridge he was equally surprised to hear the other boy’s voice yelling his name a moment later.

“Hey, Dunbar, you coming or what?” Theo demanded of him. It was enough of a shock to motivate Liam into movement yet again. He’d fully been expecting to have to call Mason to come pick him up or worse yet, having to walk home.

A few minutes later when Liam had reached the truck, he stood on the outside of the vehicle, his fingers slowly running along the handle of the now familiar passenger side door, his eyes darting in Theo’s direction before he finally focused on a point over Theo’s shoulder, trying not to die of embarrassment as Theo glared at him.

“Fuck it,” he heard Theo snarl and before Liam could fully grasp what was happening, the other boy had rounded the truck, crowded into his personal space, shoving him tightly against the passenger door of the truck, his right leg planted firmly in between both of Liam’s and his hands ever so gently cradling the sides of Liam’s face in his palms.

Liam felt as if the world were slowing to a crawl, his body overheating pleasantly as he became entirely lost in the physical sensations surrounding him in terms of the boy in front of him, Theo’s mouth inches from his own, their breathing becoming intermingled.

Liam swallowed reflexively, thoughts losing meaning to him, his body shuddering in anticipation. “Mandy, I-I…,” he croaked nonsensically.

“Shut up, Dunbar,” Theo murmured huskily, smirking against Liam’s lips as his mouth mercifully covered Liam’s own a moment later. “I’m in love with you too, idiot,” he told Liam a few minutes later when they broke apart.

“Yeah?” Liam asked warily, a hesitant smile gracing his features.

“Yeah. You know I’d love you a hell of a lot more if you dropped that damn nickname,” Theo suggested.

Liam’s smile broadened into a genuine grin at Theo’s words. “Oh, hell no. I told you already that you’re stuck with it,” he insisted.

Theo snorted, shaking his head, his eyes dancing with mirth. “Whatever. It was worth a shot,” he replied. “Let’s get out of here. Go make out somewhere a little less depressing, Dunbar.”

Liam climbed into the truck, none too surprised when Theo reminded him that Liam still hadn’t fully explained the need for the handcuffs.


End file.
